The River's Daughter

 Book 82 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 16 - 19

The River's Daughter by Bridget Crocker

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

After Bridget Crocker's parents' volatile divorce, she moved with her mother from Southern California to Wyoming. Her life was idyllic, growing up in a trailer park on the banks of the Snake River with a stepfather she loved, a new baby brother, and the river as her companion - until her mother suddenly took up a radical new lifestyle, becoming someone Bridget barely recognized. The one constant in her life - the place Bridget felt whole and fully herself - was the river. When she discovered the world of whitewater rafting, she knew she'd found her calling.

On the river, Bridget learned to read the natural world around her and came to know the language of rivers. One of the few female guides on the Snake River, she traveled to the Zambezi River in Africa, some of the most dangerous whitewater in the world, where she faced death and learned to conquer her fears - both on the water and off. The river taught her how to overcome years of trauma and betrayal, to trust herself, and, finally, how to help heal her family from generational cycles of abuse and poverty.

A beautifully rendered memoir of a woman coming into her own, The River's Daughter opens us to the possibilities of transformation through nature.

My Opinion

4 stars

Beautifully smooth writing of incredibly traumatic events.  

The Lake

 Book 81 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 14 - 16

The Lake by Natasha Preston

published 2021

Summary (via the book jacket)

Esme and Kayla once were campers at Camp Pine Lake. Now they're back as counselors-in-training. Esme loves the little girls in her cabin and thinks it's funny how scared they are of everything - the woods, the bugs, the boys...even swimming in the lake. It reminds her of how she and Kayla used to be. Before...

Because Esme and Kayla did something terrible when they were campers. Something they've kept a secret all these years. They vow that this summer will be awesome. Two months of sun, s'mores, and flirting with the cute boy counselors. But then they get a message:

THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS.

The secret they've kept buried for so many years is about to resurface.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this book out in March from a bookstore while visiting my daughter at college.  It felt basic but also very readable.  I keep starting sentences and then deleting them because I want to talk about the book with someone who has read it but can't say anything to those who haven't.  

I gave it 4 stars because of how quickly I read it and how shocked I was by the end but I also recognize this is an entirely subjective 4 stars.  If I start to think about it and pull at the threads of plot developments it would unravel with questions so I'll just let it be.  It may not stand up to scrutiny but it was a great ride.

The Undetectables

 Book 80 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 2 - 14

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?).

Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don't ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task?

Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency's first - unsolved - murder case.

With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magic society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer's next victims?

My Opinion

3 stars

Be Gay.  Solve Crimes.  Take Naps.  Best tagline ever.

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars on this book but ended up on 3 because I am interested in continuing the series.  I liked the characters but felt the writing was an odd mix of not enough story to explain all the plot points yet also too much story because it dragged as I waited for them to catch up to what I predicted early on.  A prequel with some backstory of the town and magic would be super helpful.

I was surprised by how many major characters were victims, especially considering this is the first book in a series.  I like books where nobody feels safe because it adds to the unpredictability.

Karen

 Book 79 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from November 3 - 12

Karen: A Brother Remembers by Kelsey Grammar

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

Karen by Kelsey Grammar delves into the tragic story of the author's sister, Karen, who was brutally murdered at the age of eighteen. Kelsey was just twenty years old when his younger sister, a recent high school graduate, moved to Colorado Springs, where she was kidnapped by several men who had intended to rob the Red Lobster where she worked. They instead kidnapped Karen, raped her, and ultimately stabbed her to death.

Through this memoir, Grammar poignantly recounts the memories of his sister and the impact her loss had on his life and family. With raw honesty, Grammar explores the profound grief and devastation that followed Karen's death, as well as the long and arduous journey toward healing. He bravely confronts the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of coping with such a profound loss.

Karen also serves as a testament to Grammar's lifelong journey with grief and his struggle to defeat the sting of death with the memory of a life filled with joy - irreplaceable joy. In sharing his story, Grammar aims to help others who have experienced similar loss, offering solace and encouragement to cherish the love they knew, however brief, on their own path toward healing.

This book is a loving tribute to Karen and the brother's love that survives her. 

My Opinion

2 stars

This review will use the same format as the book - stream of consciousness jumping all over the place.

His writing is engaging but if he wasn't known as an actor it would've been even harder to follow.  Having some frame of reference of his age, voice, etc. helped because there was no introduction or grounding as he threw out names and places.  It also helped me move past some of the "affect" of the tone knowing he seems to skew a little pompous (or maybe I'm just thinking of his character Frasier Crane).

I took an "ok for thee but not for me" approach to the psychic stuff as well as the religious stuff.  He believes it and takes comfort in it so I can skim past it without comment.

I liked the meta aspects of him talking directly to the reader about how it felt in the present to look at things in the past.  As I mentioned, the stream of consciousness made it more convoluted but also made it more interesting.  Taking little side quests is ok for conversation but tough to read.

No chapter breaks makes it feel longer which is just psychological since it's the same amount of words.  It would've been tough to make chapters out of this though since nothing was divided by time, person, event, etc.

I feel a little bad giving it 2 stars because it was clear from the beginning how it was written and what the vibe would be yet I chose to continue reading it.  But it didn't make me angry and I wanted to continue reading it, it just wasn't my favorite.

Talking to GOATs

 Book 78 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from October 27 - November 2

Talking to GOATs by Jim Gray

published 2020

Summary (via the book jacket)

In an illustrious career that spans more than four decades, Jim Gray has conducted tens of thousands of interviews with the best, most driven, most outlandish, most accomplished, and most colorful athletes in sports.

That list features conversations with the great athletes of all time, or GOATs - including Muhammad Ali, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Hank Aaron, Mike Tyson, Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.

In Talking to GOATs, Gray dives deep into many of those interactions and the relationships that grew out of them; examines a myriad of significant moments in sports history from his unique, up close vantage point; and tells previously untold stories from his career, like what really happened when Tyson bit off part of another man's ear, the feud between Kobe and Shaq, and the behind the scenes of the Dream Team. Gray details what he gleaned from the probing questions he's asked so many luminaries and stars. Most of all, he reveals these elusive figures as the complex people they were and are.

Gray also shares his first television interview, as a teenager with Muhammad Ali, along with the last TV interview he did with Ali a quarter century later; one of Tiger Woods's first sit-downs as a youngster; and the rare occasions when Jack Nicholson appeared on live television. Gray describes what it was like to sit next to Ron Artist when a beverage landed on the player's torso, which led to so much Malice; what it was like to ask King James for The Decision live on ESPN; and what really happened in that interview with Pete Rose.

Gray branched out beyond sports and has interviewed nine U.S. presidents and other world leaders. Through it all, Gray has witnessed moments that speak not just to sports but to America, and thus the inextricable and shared history of both.

My Opinion

2 stars

Some interesting tidbits but had to wade through so much bragging and self-congratulatory behavior to get them.

Zomromcom

 Book 77 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from October 22 - 28

Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save her sweet, seemingly harmless human neighbor from the first major zombie breach in two decades, she's stunned to be saved by him - and his ridiculously large sword - instead. As it turns out, he's actually a super-old, super-surly vampire. But for all her neighbor's newly revealed cynicism and lethality. Gaston "Max" Boucher (yes, Gaston) is unexpectedly protective. He wants her to stay in his safety bunker until the breach is resolved. Edie can't risk more innocent people getting killed, though - and Max won't let her save them alone.

As they unravel a sinister conspiracy to set zombies loose on the world (again), the duo meet a host of lovable allies and discover they're not the only ones willing to fight for the future of humanity. Despite the awful timing, Edie finds herself falling for the vampire who's helping her save the world...but all their dangerous plans could end their future before it even begins. As she and Max battle side by side, Edie must decide whether having a love worth living for also means having a love you'd die for - and, in a world that grows deadlier by the minute, whether that's a risk she's willing to take.

My Opinion

3 stars

I chose this while browsing at the library, admittedly most because the title starts with 'Z' and that's a notoriously difficult letter for me to get on my 'A-Z' challenge.  I'm rating it in the middle because I really enjoyed the banter between Edie and Max and the group dynamic of the last part of the book but I didn't get into the actual plot of fighting zombies and the conspiracy behind it at all.  Now that things seem a little clearer I might continue if the author continues the series but I'd be fine just reading this too.

I'll definitely read the author again though.

Death at the Dress Rehearsal

 Book 76 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 28 - October 21

Death at the Dress Rehearsal by Stuart Douglas

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

In 1970, while on a location shoot in Shropshire for the downmarket BBC sitcom Floggit and Leggit, ageing actor Edward Lowe -a "short stocky northerner with a receding hairline and bad eyesight", who plays the pompous and officious lead, a role based on himself - stumbles across the body of a young woman, apparently the victim of a tragic drowning accident. But there's something about her death that rings the faintest of bells in his head and, convinced the woman has been murdered, he enlists the help of his laid-back, upper-class co-star John Le Breton, a man for whom raising a wry eyebrow is a bit too much of an effort, to investigate further.

Crossing the country and back again during gaps in filming, the two elderly thespians make use of their wildly contrasting personalities and skillsets to uncover both a series of murders in the modern day and links to another death during World War II. But, as the body count mounts and a pattern to the killings begins to emerge, can Edward and John put their differences aside to save the innocent victims of a serial killer and still be ready for when the cameras start rolling?

My Opinion

3 stars

This is the first book in the "Lowe and Le Breton Mysteries" series and it caught my interest while browsing at the library.

I liked the characters and want to see their friendship blossom which is why I'll probably give the second book a try but if the series continues for multiple books and the premises continue to be that the actors are in the wrong place at the wrong time (or is the right place at the right time?) to stumble upon murders, I'll probably tire of it.  An ordinary person being constantly surrounded by crime is one of my least favorite things about cozy mysteries but I also acknowledge there wouldn't be a story without it so I read them but also complain about it.  I'm a delight.

As far as the mystery they were solving, it moved at a good pace even though the final threads connecting everything felt tenuous and coincidental.

Oh Miriam!

 Book 75 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from October 7 - 21

Oh Miriam! by Miriam Margolyes

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Oh Miriam! has been a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones - laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I'm hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) - that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I've so much more to tell you and so much more to say.

My chapters range from 'How to Stay Married' to 'Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down'. Discover how to break the thickest conversational ice; why swearing is actually good for you (though not on the Today programme); the unexpected things I learned at school and what my Spice Girl name would be. Not to mention my Tale of the Unexpected and my very own Vagina Monologue.

Buckle up and join me on another unforgettable adventure, but this time through my heart and head...

My Opinion

2 stars

This is clearly her voice and written honestly.  I thought I only knew her from 'outrageous' clips on talk shoes but it turns out I've seen multiple movies she's been in.

She writes in an entertaining way but enough of the stories elicited a cringe rather than a laugh from me that I bumped it down to 2 stars.  More than one story of flashing her tits at unsuspecting people as a "joke/prank/icebreaker" and more than one story of farting in closed spaces (yet so incredibly angry when someone did it back at her) turned my impression from "kooky old lady" to "bit of a menace".  She knows "when's the first time you had anal sex?" is an opening question that will make people squirm and does it anyway; she thinks it's ok because she thinks it's cutting through the small talk bullshit and fostering an interesting conversation but I think it's rude to deliberately make people uncomfortable, especially as she holds and shares strong opinions of others' rudeness/shortcomings.

All that being said, I probably would read her other autobiography, This Much Is True, if I came across it because her life is interesting but would also be prepared going in for the 'shock value' she enjoys creating.

Regretting You

 Book 74 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on October 11

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

published 2019

Summary (via the book jacket)

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn't have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris - Morgan's husband, Clara's father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she's been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

My Opinion 

4 stars

I read this after seeing a trailer for the movie and wanting to read the book first.  Because I knew some plot points going into the book, it's hard for me to rate this book blindly.  It's a 4 because of its readability but I also think things wrapped up too nicely for such big betrayals.

I think more story before the accident would've helped me feel more investment in the betrayal, like more scenes between the adults to fully feel the deception.  Also, I didn't see any of the "family anchor" stuff referenced in the summary; there weren't really interactions between Chris and Clara, Chris and Morgan, or Chris acting as a buffer between Clara and Morgan.  Yes, Clara and Morgan were disconnected after the accident but that would be expected no matter what the relationship was beforehand.

So I read the book quickly and did enjoy it but I think I would've been frustrated if I didn't know what was going to happen; I think the emotions I did feel were more from the trailer than from the text.  And unless I missed it, the payoff of the watermelon Jolly Ranchers never happened in the book even though they were referenced multiple times.  Another example of the trailer adding depth to the reading experience for me. 

Youth in Revolt

 Book 73 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 21 - October 9

Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne

published 1995

Summary (via Goodreads)

Youth in Revolt is the journals of Nick Twisp, California's most precocious diarist, whose ongoing struggles to make sense out of high school, deal with his divorced parents, and lose his virginity result in his transformation from an unassuming fourteen-year-old to a modern youth in open revolt. 

As his family splinters, worlds collide, and the police block all routes out of town, Nick must cope with economic deprivation, homelessness, the gulag of the public schools, a competitive Type-A father, murderous canines (in triplicate), and an inconvenient hair trigger on his erectile response—all while vying ardently for the affections of the beauteous Sheeni Saunders, teenage goddess and ultimate intellectual goad.

My Opinion

1 star

*I always write and publish my review first so it's solely my opinion and then I go to Goodreads and read other reviews for different perspectives.  However, I had a little cheat when I went to Goodreads for the summary of the book and saw this book has a 4.06 rating.  I can't wait to go back and see what other people had to say because apparently I'm in the minority with my 1 star rating.

No.  During the first half of the book I was questioning if I actually hated the book or if I just hated the characters because they're so unlikable.  The answer is I hated the book.  But by that point I was already 300 pages deep into a 500 page book and I needed to finish it, both to see if there would be resolution (there wasn't) and to get credit for the pages I'd already invested.

There were felony-level catastrophic events impacting multiple people that had zero consequences.  I was waiting for redemption or remorse or even a sociopathic "recognition of hurt but don't care" but none of those things happened.  He just hid until everything worked out for him.  Gross.  And you can be selfish without being mean, especially to "friends".  Yuck.

Something I did find interesting is that even though this book was written in the 90's, it didn't feel dated.  Other than the collect calls and the lack of technology which would've made hiding much more difficult in current times, the emotions (or lack thereof) and priorities of teen boys still felt relevant.

Oscar Wars

 Book 72 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 2 - October 5

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

by Michael Schulman

published 2023

My Opinion

3 stars

I picked this up from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

Overall, I found most of it interesting but nothing really rave-worthy.  Taking a month to read it in sections like an educational non-fiction book helped; when I first started reading it like a 'regular' book I felt bogged down with too much information.

The smallest change/biggest impact to me was when Allan Carr made the change from "And the winner is..." to "And the Oscar goes to..." to help ease competitive winner/loser feelings.

Dad Camp

 Book 71 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 27

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up - hobbies, friends, a dream job - to be something more: Superdad. Since then, he's spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who's his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back.

But John's attempts to bond seem only to drive Avery further away, and his instincts tell him she's hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the campus far from the idyllic getaway John had in mind, with a group of toxic dads who can't seem to get along, cringeworthy forced-bonding activities, and a camp director who has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John's determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery's hero again.

My Opinion 

5 stars

I picked this up on a whim while browsing at the library and I read it in a day.  Light and a little hokey but not super formulaic, this was a pleasant surprise.  

It was refreshing to have the clingy parent be the dad; this camp isn't for him to overcome being an absent parent but the complete opposite.  The choices and behavior were so cringey but understandable based on how clearly the author wrote the characters.  And the outcomes were plausible and uplifting but not magical and completely resolved.

I really liked the dynamics between the dads and how the relationships built throughout the week.  I didn't fully understand the director but it didn't seem to affect much.  I think this could make a good movie or short series (maybe an episode a day or something).

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

 Book 70 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 19 - 21

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by Naomi Wood

published 2024

Summary

My Opinion

2 stars

I checked this out from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

I don't like how I feel after reading this.  The writing must've been good to affect my mood so much but it was emotionally draining, like I'd just had a marathon phone conversation with a sad, needy friend.  Not everything has to have a positive spin but 245 pages of stories with multiple characters when everyone seems to feel hopeless and not a hint of a happy ending in any of them felt too heavy.

Never Whistle at Night

 Book 69 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 5 - 18

Never Whistle at Night by multiple authors

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night: it can cause evil spirits to appear - and even follow you home. These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge.

Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples' survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.

My Opinion

4 stars

Usually when I read a book with multiple authors I write a sentence or two about each story.  I didn't do that this time because I felt unimaginative and was continually repeating myself.  I really enjoyed each story and there wasn't a dud in the bunch.

Why 4 stars and not 5?  It was close but while there weren't any stories I didn't connect with at all, there were a few that I only found "okay" and that was enough to lower the rating for me.  It's still a high 4 for me.

6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did)

 Book 68 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 7

6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

After years of bickering, Penny and Tate have called a truce: They'll play nice. They have to. Their mothers (lifelong best friends) need them to be perfect, drama-free daughters when Penny's mother becomes a living liver donor to Tate's mom. With the girls forced to live together as the moms recover, their truce is essential in keeping everything - their jobs, the house, the finances, the moms' healing - running smoothly. They've got to let this thing between them go.

There's one little hitch: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.

It's just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenage existence.

They've never talked about it. They've always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they're living across the hall from each other. 

And some things - like kisses - can't be almost forever.

Told through two girls' present and six moments from their past, this dynamic love story shows that sometimes the person you need the most has been there for you all along. 

My Opinion

4 stars

The non-(almost)kissing parts were so well fleshed out and the characters had real troubles that weren't glossed over but also weren't overwhelming.  I really liked the book as a whole and read it in a day.

The way the sections were broken up kept things moving and didn't dwell on any one miss or event too much.  By the end I thought maybe 6 "almosts" was one or two too many but I was enjoying the rest of the story so much I didn't mind.

My Ex, the Antichrist

 Book 67 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 29 - September 7

My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

1998: Lily Lawlor and Drake Morgan form a punk band. Drake inspires faith in some. Fear in others. Lily is a believer.

2010: At the height of her stardom, Lily walks into a police station and confesses to a murder.

Now: The band has refused to talk to the press about their riotous past, Lily's confession, or anything else. It's been over a decade, but Lily has finally agreed to an interview. And the band is following her lead.

What follows is a story of prophecy, death, and apocalypse. A story about love found and love lost. A story about the Antichrist. Maybe it's all true. Maybe none of it is.

Either way, this is their story. And they're sticking to it.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this up from a bookstore on vacation.  It read quickly and was entertaining.  I'm sure there were religious imagery/metaphors/philosophical commentary I missed because of my lack of knowledge but even at the surface level it was a good story.

I will definitely read this author again but I hope this book was a standalone.  It arced nicely and explained everything but there was a little of "the end?" (which you have to say as "the end question mark" when talking about it); I hope this was not a teaser for adding more to the story in another book.

The Art of the SNL Portrait

 Book 66 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 5 - 6

The Art of the SNL Portrait by Mary Ellen Matthews

published 2025

My Opinion

4 stars

Sometimes you just need to zone out, drink some Climbing Kites, and flip through an oversized book of large pictures with a really cool holographic cover.  That's what I did.

Small question 1: when the author talked about how difficult it was to cull 24 years of photos down and pick what makes it into the book, why use 2 pages inside reprinting a photo already on the back cover?

Small question 2: why were there 20 pages of John Mulaney?  I questioned it more before getting to that actual section but even with the explanation, it still seemed odd.

A Song for My Mother

 Book 65 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 2

A Song for My Mother by Kat Martin

published 2011

Summary (via the book jacket)

Years after running away with her boyfriend in high school, Marly Hanson returns to Dreyerville at the request of her daughter, Katie, who has recently been treated for brain cancer. Katie has never met her grandmother Winnie. The homecoming is bittersweet, but reuniting is crucial if Marly and her mother are ever to rediscover the bond they once shared.

To complicate matters, living next door to Winnie is handsome sheriff and widower Reed Bennett, and his son, Ham. Ham and Katie become fast friends, while their parents find themselves attracted to one another. But Marly's time in Dreyerville is limited and risking her heart isn't something she's willing to do.

Can she risk loving the handsome sheriff and give up the future she worked so hard to forge for herself and her daughter? Can she make a life in Dreyerville after what happened all those years ago?

Will Marly finally realize that her true destiny and ultimate happiness lie in coming to terms with her past?

My Opinion

3 stars

You already know before reading the book what the answers to the questions in the summary are and that's ok.  I enjoy a palate cleansing "safe" book now and then and this small paperback novella fit the bill.  I appreciate that it's 150ish pages because the shorter timeline leads to less of the miscommunication tropes that have to happen to move the story along.

I picked it out from the library because of its small size and innocuous vibe as something to take on vacation...you know the jokes about packing extra underwear "just in case" you shit yourself every day?  That's me with books...I always pack way too many "just in case" and picking smaller, lighter books as extras is a way to compromise with myself.  Then when I didn't read it on vacation I took it with me to the doctor's office this morning; again, it's small and benign enough to not draw attention like I might have with the other book I'm currently reading that says "My Ex, The AntiChrist" in large red letters.  Between the time at the appointment and the time eating breakfast after, I was finished.

Even though it's pretty much as advertised and expected, I went with 3 stars because I think some pretty heavy topics were glossed over.  It's tricky to find a reason strong enough that the main character would stay away for twelve years but also something that could be resolved fairly quickly once she returns, and I don't think the final straw in this case that made her leave was that reason - either take it seriously and continue to stay away or at least address it before moving on, or brush it off twelve years ago like she did when she returned.

Girlhood

 Book 64 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 1

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

published 2021

Summary (via Goodreads)

In her powerful new book, critically acclaimed author Melissa Febos examines the narratives women are told about what it means to be female and what it takes to free oneself from them.

When her body began to change at eleven years old, Febos understood immediately that her meaning to other people had changed with it. By her teens, she defined herself based on these perceptions and by the romantic relationships she threw herself into headlong. Over time, Febos increasingly questioned the stories she’d been told about herself and the habits and defenses she’d developed over years of trying to meet others’ expectations. The values she and so many other women had learned in girlhood did not prioritize their personal safety, happiness, or freedom, and she set out to reframe those values and beliefs.

Blending investigative reporting, memoir, and scholarship, Febos charts how she and others like her have reimagined relationships and made room for the anger, grief, power, and pleasure women have long been taught to deny.

Written with Febos’ characteristic precision, lyricism, and insight, Girlhood is a philosophical treatise, an anthem for women, and a searing study of the transitions into and away from girlhood, toward a chosen self.

My Opinion

4 stars

I checked this book out from the library after seeing it in Bookpage.  I read it in chunks over the span of an entire day but it's Labor Day so I had the whole day to sit and read.

It's a very high 4 stars for me.  Her writing was weighty and meaningful but still accessible.  I understand and can relate to the matter-of-fact ways some situations are described that could use more reflection and therapy in hindsight but it sounds like the author is working through things and I hope she has found happiness and comfort.

60 Songs That Explain the '90s

 Book 63 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 24 - 31

60 Songs That Explain the '90s by Rob Harvilla

published 2023

My Opinion

2 stars

I'm also a '90s high schooler/college kid which makes me the prime demographic for this book.  As the author rightly points out, the music of your teenage years is probably going to be what you consider the "best" decade of music.

There are way more than 60 songs mentioned in this book, as the author notes immediately.  This book spawned from the author's podcast of the same name (which has also covered more than 60 songs so far) which I haven't heard.  Maybe that format works better than the book but I'm also not intrigued enough to check it out.

Credit where credit is due: it was a great start with the laugh-out-loud descriptions of Celine Dion (my personal favorite: "[Dion] came here to kick ass and sing songs, and she's about out of ass") and the letter from his mother.  But it all went downhill from there, unfortunately.

I found the book difficult to read with all the footnotes cramming extra information in instead of finding a way to work it into the text.  And with so many songs it became a line or two (and maybe a footnote) about each one, making it difficult to stay grounded.  Either I'd heard the song and would've wanted more reflection or I'd never heard the song and would've wanted to learn about it.  Or more likely, I'd heard the song but didn't know I'd heard the song because I didn't know that was the title of the song and there was nothing else shared that would've jogged my memory.

Overall, this was a miss for me.  I'd hoped for shared experiences but I'll just go back to my own '90s playlist and feel my own nostalgia instead.

Eight Very Bad Nights

 Book 62 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 22 - 24

Eight Very Bad Nights: a Collection of Hanukkah Noir

published 2024

My Opinion

3 stars

This is a collection of 11 mysteries relating to Hanukkah.  Overall, it was fine...mostly entertaining while I was reading but not super memorable.  My favorite was "Twenty Centuries".

Like I do with books by multiple authors, I have a few individual thoughts about each story included below.

Johnny Christmas

I was absorbed in the story and it was a somewhat unpredictable ending.

Shamash

Depressing but poignant.

Twenty Centuries

This was my favorite story in the book.  It was fully fledged out with details that filled the story but it didn't feel too long.

If I Were a Rich Man

A story with many turns that kept my interest and it had a decent ending.

Come Let Us Kiss and Part

It felt more like an excerpt of a longer book than a standalone short story because of an abrupt, unresolved ending.

Mi Shebeirach

For such a dark story it was surprisingly hopeful.

Dead Weight

I found this story to be confusing and unclear.

Lighting the Remora

I didn't connect with this because it felt anticlimactic and I didn't see the point of the story.

Not a Dinner Party Person

There was lots about the FDA trials with zero resolutions or follow-up.  I hope Nina messed up his computer.

The Demo

It was fine.  There were lots of layers/double-crosses so I was unsure who to root for.

Eight Very Bad Nights

This is a full story.  I know people like Jack who are able to bumble along making poor, impulsive choices yet somehow having things work out for them.  Hopefully the people I know are less extreme than Jack though.

All Boys Aren't Blue

 Book 61 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 18 - 20

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

published 2020

Summary (via Goodreads)

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

My Opinion

5 stars

This was an absorbing, moving read. 

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing

 Book 60 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from August 9 - 17

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough

published 2021

Summary (via the book jacket)

As an adult, Lauren Hough has had many identities: an airman in the U.S. Air Force, a cable guy, a bouncer at a gay club. As a child, however, she had none. Growing up as a member of the infamous Children of God cult, Hough had her own self robbed from her. The cult took her all over the globe, but it wasn't until she finally left for good that Hough understood she could have a life beyond "the Family".

At once razor-sharp, profoundly brave, and often very, very funny, the essays in Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing interrogate our notions of ecstasy, queerness, and what it means to live freely. Each piece is a reckoning: of survival, identity, and reclaiming one's past and future alike.

My Opinion

3 stars

I'm rating this neutrally but it's a low 3/high 2 stars for me.  I would never discourage someone from sharing their stories and I hope the author finds peace in her life but for me personally, it was difficult to read because it felt so freshly angry.  Understandably angry (not that she needs my permission) but still difficult.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

 Book 59 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 27 - August 13

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, frightened, and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There's Rose, a hippie who insists she's going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician, who plans to marry her baby's father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute, and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they're allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by the adults who claim they know what's best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it's never given freely. There's always a price to be paid...and it's usually paid in blood. 

My Opinion

2 stars

When I was reading the acknowledgments at the end of the book (yes I read cover to cover), the author mentioned the first two drafts of this book didn't have witches at all.  When I read that, something clicked for me because part of the reason I didn't enjoy this book was because it felt like different books mushed together.  Based on the title, description, and what I've read from the author in the past, I kept waiting for the witchcraft from the beginning but it was over 100 pages before anything happened.  Then it seemed like the middle raced by and a million things happened and it felt like everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at the plot.  Then the ending happened which was nice and wrapped things up but also felt disjointed and out of place.

Overall, I would've read a book about homes for unwed mothers and I would've read a book about witches and I think there was potential to marry the two together by the author but it wasn't fully achieved in this book.

Fahrenheit-182

 Book 58 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 27 - August 5

Fahrenheit-182 by Mark Hoppus

published 2025

My Opinion

5 stars

Fahrenheit-182 is a memoir by Mark Hoppus, best known for co-founding blink-182.  This was a surprising 5 star read for me; I knew I was enjoying it but the roller coaster of emotions and his writing sucked me in and I found myself tearing up by the end.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how well he writes based on his lyrics but this was well-written and interesting.

To ground someone reading this review, I was in college in the late '90's so I could probably sing along to most of blink's hits.  If they pop up on the radio I'll turn it up but I don't seek them out to listen to.  My husband is more of a fan and by coincidence was wearing a blink shirt when I finished this book on a drive to Chicago.  Then we checked into our hotel and the clerk saw his shirt and started talking about how much he liked blink and how they led him to discover other bands.

Anyway...lots of turmoil, stories that someone can look back and laugh at now knowing how it all turned out, stories that make good anecdotes but would've been annoying to witness (such as all the pranks), stories with heart, and just enough "tea" on the breaks the band took to maintain authenticity without fulling shitting on anyone.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

 Book 57 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 28 - August 1

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

published 2014

Summary (via the book jacket)

Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned a fascination with death into her life's work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best-selling memoir, brimming with gallows humor and vivid characters, she marvels at the gruesome history of undertaking and relates her unique coming-of-age story with bold curiosity and mordant wit. 

My Opinion

4 stars

This is a book I've owned for awhile and in my quest to read what I own and purge my shelves, I'm glad I finally read this and know it will find more readers when I move it out of the house. 

Sifting through an urn of cremated remains you cannot tell if a person had successes, failures, grandchildren, felonies.  "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  As an adult human, your dust is the same as my dust, four to seven pounds of grayish ash and bone.

I feel like I've heard of this author before, probably through her Internet stuff, but have never actually read her before.  I'm surprised it's called a memoir because it's pretty much about her job with a few personal asides thrown in here and there.  I enjoyed the book because the job is what I was interested in but I wouldn't consider it a memoir or her life story.

Something about the lines, "In many ways, women are death's natural companions.  Every time a woman gives birth, she is creating not only a life, but also a death." really struck me as beautiful and poignant.

Reading something written in 2014 warning about the potential shortage of physicians and caretakers in 2020 reminded me of a math problem with multiple paths to the same answer.  Yes, there were shortages in 2020 and beyond but no, the main reason wasn't what they were concerned about in 2014 (an increase in the aging population). 

The Trees Grew Because I Bled There

 Book 56 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on July 25

The Trees Grew Because I Bled There

by Eric LaRocca

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Eight stories of dark fiction from a master storyteller. Exploring the shadow side of love, these are tales of grief, obsession, control, intricate examinations of trauma and tragedy in raw, poetic prose. 

A woman imagines horrific scenarios while caring for her infant niece; on-line posts chronicle a cancer diagnosis; a couple in the park with their small child encounter a stranger with horrific consequences; a toxic relationship reaches a terrifying resolution...

My Opinion

4 stars

I asked for and received this book for Christmas after seeing it in a Barnes & Noble display last Halloween.

The book was small but the visceral reactions the author generated were large.  This content isn't for everyone but I think a reader can tell fairly quickly if they'll like it or not.  

I winced many times but it also didn't feel like the author was trying to write something shocking just to do it.  Each story had a message, even if the message was that people are awful and sadistic sometimes.

A Forty Year Kiss

Book 55 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 17 - 24

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler

published 2025

Summary (via the book jacket)

Charlie and Vivian parted ways after just four years of marriage. Too many problems, too many struggles, even though the love didn't quite die. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he's not sure what he'll find. He is sure of one thing - he must try to reconnect with Vivian to pick up the broken pieces of their past. But forty years is a long time. It's forty years of other relationships, forty years of building new lives, and forty years of long-held regrets, mistakes, and painful secrets.

My Opinion

3 stars

I attended a reading and got my book signed by the author in Ames, Iowa earlier this year.  The book itself is really pretty with the pink/purple gradient along the outside of the pages.

This is the second book I've read by this author (Shotgun Lovesongs was a 5 star read for me) and I really like his writing style and character development.  The main reason I gave it 3 stars is because the major surprise of the book is a pretty big thing and I can't believe there wasn't at least a moment of discomfort between the characters after the discovery.

The Undertaker's Daughter

 Book 54 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 17 - 21

The Undertaker's Daughter by Kate Mayfield

published 2015

Summary (via Goodreads)

After Kate Mayfield was born, she was taken directly to a funeral home. Her father was an undertaker, and for thirteen years the family resided in a place nearly synonymous with death. A place where the living and the dead entered their house like a vapor. The place where Kate would spend the entirety of her childhood. In a memoir that reads like a Harper Lee novel, Mayfield draws the reader into a world of Southern mystique and ghosts.

Kate's father set up shop in a small town where he was one of two white morticians during the turbulent 1960s. Jubilee, Kentucky, was a segregated, god-fearing community where no one kept secrets, except the ones they were buried with. By opening a funeral home, Kate's father also opened the door to family feuds, fetishes, and victims of accidents, murder, and suicide. The family saw it all. They also saw the quiet ruin of Kate's father, who hid alcoholism and infidelity behind a cool, charismatic exterior. As Mayfield grows from trusting child to rebellious teen, she begins to find the enforced hush of the funeral home oppressive, and longs for the day she can escape the confines of her small town.

My Opinion

4 stars

This was a high 4 for me.  The author's writing pulled me in effortlessly.  It almost read like a fiction story because of the characters in town and the author's unique lived experiences.

The author's rough descriptions of her sister Evelyn from the very beginning caught me off guard and even though their fractured relationship was explained later, I still think the comments specifically about her appearance and laziness felt out of place. 

A Grandmother Begins the Story

 Book 53 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from July 4 - 17

A Grandmother Begins the Story

by Michelle Porter

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Carter is a young mother on a quest to find the true meaning of her heritage, which she only learned of in her teens. Allie is trying to make up for those lost years with her first-born and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother. Lucie wants the granddaughter she've never met to help her get to her ancestors in the afterlife. And Genevieve is determined to conquer her demons - before the fire inside burns her up - with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without. Meanwhile, Mame, in the afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to cut herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward. And a young bison wants to understand why he keeps being over and whether he should make a break for it and run for his life.

My Opinion

4 stars

This book caught my eye at a bookstore.  I didn't buy it but noted the title to check out from the library.  I very rarely buy new books and am trying to reduce my buying in general so this is a fairly regular thing for me to do.

The length of time between the date I started and the date I finished isn't a true reflection of how I read this.  I started it, realized I needed to be in a focused mindset to continue, had that time yesterday, and finished it in one sitting.  Even with the gap in between I didn't struggle with the multiple viewpoints which is amazing because there was a lot of switching.  There were multiple characters, human and animal and even grass.

I'm sure there were things I didn't catch on a deeper level but I enjoyed the journey.  I didn't want to book to be longer but I did continue thinking about the characters after I finished.